Brassiere



Aug. 3, 1948. H. SCHOEBEL 7 2446,437

BRASS IERE Filed Aug. 1, 1946 INVENTOR. //EMPY 5Cf/OEBEL B Patented Aug. 3, 1948 UNITED STATES PTEN'I OFFICE BRASSILERE Henry Schoebel, West Hempstead, Lang Island,

N. Y. assignor to Elvira C. Mclieefrey Associates, New York, N. Y.

Application August 1, 1946, Seria-1Ne. 687,59&

1 Claim. l

The invention relates t o a brassicere, whether worn as an undergarment with conventional street wearing apparel or as an integral or separable part of a bathing suit or bathing ensemble constituted of a. trunk portion and a brassire portion. More particularly, the invention relates to a brassire of the strapless type and one having wire encompassed bust sections or breast receiving pockets.

Strapless brassires, by which temn ismeant a bust supporting artic1e f wearing apparel having no shoulder straps to support the brassire from the shoulders of the wearer, have been heretofore designed and marketed, primari1y for use With strapless evening gowns and funutionally t0 g ive the we-arer freedom from shoulder pull. Strapless brassires have also been in demand for the present-day conventional day -time dress which l-eaves the wearer bare shouldered.

Wired brassires, i. e., brassims in which segments 0f wire are utilized as reinforcing elements for the bust sections, extending either partially or wholly throughout the periphery of each bust section, being maintained as a border member for the :bust section by a tubular Iining through which the wire is threaded, have also been produced. and marketed.

The novelty of my strapless wire brassire, however, is based neither in the fact cf its strapless character, nur in its utilization cf wires for encompassing the bust sections, but in the coustruction of the wire element, its manner of attachment and firm positioning within the bust sections, and its contour anal configuration, when incorparated in the brassire as an integral part thereof, to yield a bust and body encircling artic1e of wearing apparel 0f marked advantages never heretofore attained in the art.

The attempts of those skilled in the art have provided strapless wire brassires in which a segment o-f wire is disposed. under the breast, to yield an extended neck line. O-thers have positioned the segment of wire over the bosom, seeking accentuation of the bust 1ine. In both types, the wire is ordinarily encased in plush er a lining of non-slipping material 1:0 hug the peripheral hase 1ine of the bosom.

Brassires, with wire completely encompassing the busts have also been produced, but they have been =complete cummer.cial failures for many reas-ons, the primary one of which is that they could not, by reason of their inherent separation, produce a proper support for the busts and a proper positioning thereof in symmetrical outline so as 2 to correct inequalities in bust formation 01 maintain equality 01 configuration and disposition thereof.

In is broadest aspect, my novel strapless brassirecomprises a single length of wire preferably 0f stainless steel, bent into a substantially V-shaped open 1oop at; i1;s center and each secion completing a substantially circular segment, encompass the bust sections, with the ends cf each segment joined, after the circu1ar segments have been applied to the bust sections, ro the -center open loop by a clamping device. The substantially ciroular segments are given a configuration, so that t-he two segments are not flat, are pl r ut onform exactly 190 the Joody coutour 013 the wearer of the brassire when it is in position upon ehe body. Thus, the brassire is characterized by a degree of animation of the wire structure, by reason of which it is capable of hugging the body an exten1; sufficient 1:0 automatically conform it to the contour of the body in the bust region and. thereby be securely he1d in position irrespective of the movement of Ehe wearer.

A specific embodiment of my invention, with two bust forms and. a clamping member, 1s illustrated in the accompanying dravvings in which Fig. 1 is a front view of my novel strapless wire brassire; Fig. 2 is a top view thereof when in position upon the body 0f the wearer; Fig. 3 is a p1an view of the wire element; Fig. 4 is an en-- 1arged detail vievv of the clamping structure for joining the free ends of the wire element 130 the V-shaped open 100p of such element to complete the bust sectiom encircling segments; Fig. 5 is a section on alle line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is-an enlarged detail view of a slightly modified form 015 clamp structure.

Refeiring more particularly to the drawings, in which similar reference chara-cters identify 51m1- 1ar parts in the several views, the brassire comprises two bust sections H] and l l 0f pliable materia1 and substantially circular in outline. Such bust sections are completely separate from each other and are given the conventional cup-shape by means of darts I2, I2 suitably provided in the pliable Iabric material.

The peripheral edges of each bust section are forme into tubular selvage edges I3 in any conventional and suitable manner, for instance, by turning inwardly the edges of. the material and securing such turned in edges 1:0 the fabric by stitching.

From each of the outenmost medial edges of each bust section extends an fi lastic strap I4, I5

having any conventional fastening means, for instance, hooks and eyes I6 and I1, for securing the brassire in place about the Moody of the wearer.

Each of the bust sections has threaded through the peripheral selvage tubing I3 thereof, the relaiV@1Y W elem@ t i?llY i l !8 and which is constituted of a single; length of preferably stainless steel wire formed a.t 1ts medial point into a. substantially V-shaped open loop I9 with the length of wire extending on each side of such V-shaped open 100p formed into a circle designated as 213 and 2li, the end of Bach circle terminating in a band 22, 23.

The horizontal extent of the portin of. the wire element constituting the base of the V-shaped open loop I9 is clampegi i ;o a clangpi n g device 26 which has turned in fianges 25 gaxgd 25, the former retaining the horizontal secti0n of the Wire forming the base of the loop and the latter adapted to receive and clamp the bends 22 and 23 of the free ends of the wire element after the circular sections 29 and 2! have been threaded through the tubu1ar peripheral selvage of each bust secaion. When such bends 22 and 23 have b-3en posiuioned within ehe clamping member, the tabs 21 and 28 cf such clamping member are bent upwardly anal over the fianges 25 and 29 110 their positions shown in Fig. 4., whereby the wire e1ement is secure1y fastened together.

It Will be noted from Fig. 2, that the stiff wire elemsnt generally designated in Fig. 3 as I8, 1s not flat but in its position within the bust sections is slightly curved in each of its circula r segments, so thai: it conforms substantially to the contour Qf the body of the wearer in the region of the busts am. thereby have suflicient life to hug the bocly of the wearer.

The clamping structure may be encased whln a p1ush or other soft non-slipping materia], pad 29. which material may also be used as a lining for the interior surface of the peripheral se1vage tubing of .each bust section where it is in contact W1th the body.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated a s1ightly modifled form o1 clamp structure in which the tabs 30 anal 3l, of the clamp, instead of being bent inwardly so as to overly the fianges 25 and 29 of the clamping device, are bent downwardlyand inwardly over the circulax portions cf the wire adjaoent the bends 22 and 23, whereby 0ne section of the wire element is pivotable about the clamping member through a considerable angle, whereas ehe -other section is rigid1y secured in position. By such pivota1 arrangement of a. portion of the wire element, a considerable degree of fiexibility is imparted to t ;he wire structure to enable it to conform readily 120 the cont0ur of the body of the wear.er.

While I have described a specific embodiment of my novel strapless wire brassire and on1y two specific forms of the clamping arrangement therefor, it is obvious that various changes therein may be made without departing from my invention.

F9; ipstango, it would be Wf1thin my invention, to make the -wire e1ement in two substantially symmetrical sections of the form 015 the upper half of Fig. 3, to thread such sections through the bust pockets, and thereafter seoure such sect ion s together at their outermost medial points. Also, instead of using a c1amp structure, of either forrri illustprated and described, the free ends of tir-1g wre element may be merely crimped. 0r looped over the centra1 portion thereof to secure a;o1osupe f the sections.

I claim:

A garment adapted to encirc1e the boc'ly of: the Wearer in the bust region, comprising two bust supporting sections of pliable material, a single length of rel-atively stifi wire completely encompassing ea.ch of said bust sections and. having bent ends, said Wire element having a substam tia1ly Wshaped open loop in the center thereof between the bust sections and means for per.- manently and rigidly clamping the free ends of said wire elemenu to said looped centrai portion constitute complete and rigid wire frames for said. bust sections anal a body encircling band, extending from each bust section, having fasteni-ng means for securing the garment about the body of the wearer, said garment ineluding a. elamp structure for the wire constituted of a, flat member, a pair of flanges for receiving the bottom section of the 1oop and the bent ends of the wire, and tabs folda.ble upon said. fl anges to secure said bent enols of the wir e in place, said tabs bein g bent downwardly to clamp the ends of the wire constituting the bust enoirlin sections adjacent their bent ends.

HENRY SCHOEBEL.

The following references are of recorc l in the fi1e of this patent:

UNITED STA'IES PATENTS Number Name Dato 1472,796 Fritz Nov. 6, 1923 1837958 Ferr.ero Dec. 22, 1931 2045401 Mowry June 23, 1936 2131457 Tachat Sept. 27, 1938 2,248204 Snider July 8, 1941 2,406,576 Ax Aug. 27, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Dato 771,567 Franco Ju]y 30, 1934 

